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US Envoy on Mideast Tour to Coordinate Efforts on Iran

US special envoy to Iran Rob Malley (AP)
US special envoy to Iran Rob Malley (AP)
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US Envoy on Mideast Tour to Coordinate Efforts on Iran

US special envoy to Iran Rob Malley (AP)
US special envoy to Iran Rob Malley (AP)

US Special Envoy for Iran Rob Malley will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain Nov. 11-20 to coordinate efforts ahead of fresh talks about reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Malley will lead a joint team among a number of US federal agencies, 9 days before the “5 + 1 group" of the permanent members of the Security Council meet in Vienna to get Washington and Tehran to resume compliance with the nuclear deal, under which Iran restrained its nuclear program in return for relief from US, EU and UN sanctions.

A statement released by the US State Department on Thursday, said Malley “will coordinate our approaches on a broad range of concerns with Iran, including its destabilizing activities in the region and the upcoming seventh round of talks on a mutual return to full compliance with the (deal)," referring to the Nov. 29 resumption of indirect US-Iran talks.

Malley’s trip will be his first to Israel as a member of the Biden administration. He has met several times with Israeli officials in Washington. He is one of the original architects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but has rarely appeared face-to-face with Israeli officials on this issue, given Israel's strong opposition to the deal.

Malley last spoke publicly on efforts to revive the JCPOA last month when he told reporters that Iran’s explanations for staying away from nuclear talks in Vienna are “running out.”

Days after, Iran announced readiness to resume negotiations on Nov. 29, after a five-months hiatus due to the elections that brought hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to power.

US President Joe Biden said he was ready to resume the nuclear agreement talks, under which Iran agreed to strict limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for comprehensive sanctions relief.

Iran wants a lifting of the US sanctions imposed by former US President Donald Trump after withdrawing from the deal in 2018.

The Biden administration says it will only negotiate actions taken by Trump on the nuclear program, not the steps imposed on other concerns such as human rights.

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UN Watchdog to Conduct Probe into Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against ICC Chief Prosecutor

FILE - Public Prosecutor Karim Khan prepares for a trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP)
FILE - Public Prosecutor Karim Khan prepares for a trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP)
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UN Watchdog to Conduct Probe into Sexual Misconduct Allegations Against ICC Chief Prosecutor

FILE - Public Prosecutor Karim Khan prepares for a trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP)
FILE - Public Prosecutor Karim Khan prepares for a trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP)

A United Nations watchdog has been selected to lead an external probe into allegations of sexual misconduct against the top prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, The Associated Press learned Tuesday.

The move will likely generate conflict of interest concerns owing to the prosecutor’s wife’s past work for the oversight body.

Chief prosecutor Karim Khan provided updates on the court’s politically sensitive investigations into war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine, Gaza and Venezuela among other conflict areas during the institution’s annual meeting this week in The Hague, Netherlands.

But hanging over the gathering of the ICC’s 124 member states are allegations against Khan himself.

An AP investigation in October found that at the same time the ICC was readying a warrant for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Khan was facing internal accusations that he tried to coerce a female aide into a sexual relationship and groped her against her will over a period of several months.

At this week’s meeting of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, which oversees the ICC, Päivi Kaukoranta, a Finnish diplomat currently heading the ICC’s oversight body, told delegates that she has settled on the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services, two diplomats told the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door talks.

Two respected human rights groups last month already expressed concern about the possible selection of the UN because Khan’s wife, a prominent human rights attorney, worked at the agency in Kenya in 2019 and 2020 investigating sexual harassment.

The International Federation for Human Rights and Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, in a joint statement, said Khan should be suspended while the probe is being carried out and called for “thoroughly vetting the chosen investigative body, firm, or institution to ensure it is free from conflicts of interest and possesses demonstrated expertise.”

What they described as Khan’s “close relationship” with the UN agency deserved added scrutiny, the two groups said.

“We strongly recommend ensuring that these concerns are openly and transparently addressed before assigning the mandate to the OIOS,” the two organizations said.